WORLD’S ONLY STAINLESS STEEL BIKE SEAT 30% STRONGER, CRUCIAL IN MILITARY UNDERWATER EQUIPMENT TESTING
18 February 2004 - Carpenter Technology Corporation

Spongy Wonder, Inc., has eliminated the need for costly, environmentally-compromising paint and coating of mild steel by making its unique bike seat from Type 304 stainless steel. The seat is corrosion resistant, strong and polished to a beautiful finish that is resistant to scratching, marring, chipping and discoloring.

As suggested by the name, Spongy Wonder mounts on top of its stainless steel bike seat frame a unique, dual platform made of thick, durable closed-cell foam. The dual platform is designed to gently accommodate the dual-seating configuration presented by most any biker.

While his bike seats already offered good strength, Jeff Dixon, company owner and inventor of the seat, was not completely satisfied. 'I wanted to improve the seat, if possible,' said Dixon, 'so I began to investigate other stainless round bar. I thought the Internet was the place to start, but the whole affair really was a nightmare. I couldn’t find anyone who could answer all my questions. I couldn’t find anyone patient enough to give me a lengthy consultation or, in many cases, anyone who could give me a straight answer.'

Then Dixon found Bob Mohr, regional metallurgist for Carpenter Technology Corp., Reading, Pa., USA. Through several long conversations, Dixon described his production process to Mohr, fully defining all production application requirements. Mohr, stated Dixon, was the 'only guy I found with comprehensive knowledge and straight answers.'

The company evaluated two options suggested by Mohr. One was to consider A-286 alloy, an aerospace grade providing an ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 169 ksi. This material proved to be so strong that the equipment used to make the bike seat was unable to handle it. However, Dixon hopes to retool soon so he can achieve the higher strength level possible with A-286 alloy.

Enhanced Stainless

As a second option, Dixon agreed to try Type 304 SH (strain hardened) stainless bar from Carpenter. Strain hardening the conventional alloy at the mill is a cold working process designed to increase its strength and hardness. While the standard Type 304 stainless offered Spongy Wonder a UTS of 104 ksi to 108 ksi, strain hardening improved the strength of the alloy to an ultimate tensile of 135 ksi.

'Type 304 strain hardened stainless provides us with the same attributes as Type 304 stainless,' Dixon reported, 'while increasing the strength of the seat’s frame by between 30 percent and 35 percent, at a cost of only 50 cents (CDN) extra per seat. I am very pleased!'

Underwater Biking

As it turns out, the Canadian Armed Forces also has been pleased with the extra-strong and corrosion resistant bike seats. That became evident soon after Dixon received a call from Robert MacLean, diving systems technician for the Experimental Diving Unit (EDU) Section of Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC). This is an agency within the Canadian Department of National Defence that provides leading edge science and technology services for the Canadian Armed Forces, other departments of the Canadian government, the private sector, academia and NATO allies. DRDC provides worldwide R & D leadership, with a focus on the role of human engineering in the development of new products and equipment.

The agency’s Experimental Diving Unit (EDU) wanted seats for use with two underwater bikes located in the wetpot of the Diving Research Facilities (Hyperbaric Chamber). Divers’ heart rates and work efforts, as well as the efficiency of all types of diving gear, are monitored. The divers pedal underwater exercise bikes, simulating the stressful operational requirements of performing work under various deep-water conditions. Typically, rebreather-trained divers in full gear would pedal five minutes on the bottom of the diving chamber, rest for five minutes and then repeat the sequence in varying lengths of time.

MacLean was tired of throwing away conventional mild steel bike seats which not only 'fell apart' after two dive series but also, due to their tendency to corrode, threatened to contaminate the water and foul expensive equipment undergoing tests in the diving chamber.

The divers have liked the durability and comfort of the Spongy Wonder stainless steel seats. At last count, they had been in service continuously for eight months without any sign of corrosion, or damage to the seat pads, down to depths of 81 msw (meters sea water).

Fabrication

The Spongy Wonder bicycle seat is a modular design: It has a steel frame, dual stainless platforms, dual stainless oval washers and four stainless steel locknuts. On top of the platforms sit removable and replaceable closed cell foam cushions. The seat’s design is adjustable to the rider’s size, but neither that, nor its ability to be rebuilt over time, is its main feature.

The Spongy Wonder seat allows a biker to ride in 'safety' because it eliminates damaging pressures to the urological systems in both male and female riders. It also eliminates damaging pressures to the tailbone.

Fabrication of the frame itself requires 14 individual steps, beginning with having cut-to-length bar (the frame material) fed into a pneumatic machine. Five bends later the ends are welded together and ground smooth. The frame is then placed into a jig for the final bend. Additional sanding and grinding are done before the frames undergo a two-stage polishing process, using a tumbling buffer.

The dual platforms are laser cut and two stainless weld studs are attached.

http://www.cartech.com

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